WASC Category A: Organization for Student Learning
Note to Visiting Committee:
Welcome to the collective wikispace for Category A. In this wiki you will find record of the focus groups who addressed the criteria questions for A1-A7. Focus groups reviewed helpful documents and the belief statement (listed below) when they first began meeting in 2010. On the left hand side navigation tab, you will find the artifacts from focus group meetings held between 2010-2012. For each criteria question, there are four affiliated pages:
Brainstorm: The collected notes from all focus group meetings. Narrative: The draft narratives that were developed by the core team and reviewed by the focus groups. Subsequent edits were proposed and incorporated into a working draft. Evidence: A map to virtual and physical evidence that is referenced in the narrative. Strengths/Growths: Strengths and growths that were developed into the Schoolwide Action Plan.
We think you will find the Evidence pages to be the best reference as you begin examining the evidence referenced in our narrative prior to your actual site visit on March 4-7 (we've provided quick links to these pages below). Hard copy evidence will also be available to you at the school site during the visit. The other web pages (Brainstorm, Narrative, and Strengths/Growths) offer a glimpse into the process and products of our focus group work which led to the final draft of our self study.
Focus Group #1: A1, A3 (Focus Group Chair - Colleen Galloway)
Focus Group #2: A2, A4 (Focus Group Chair - Angela Demmel)
Focus Group #3: A5, A6, A7 (Focus Group Chair - Susan Geiger)
The board of trustees believes that Moreau Catholic High School provides indispensable service to youth in Southern Alameda County; it is the only Catholic high school serving this geographic region. Its forty-year tradition of academic achievement has twice earned national recognition.
Because of the marketing evaluations undertaken by the board, the trustees are more than convinced that Moreau Catholic High School must continue as an essential ministry of the Diocese of Oakland and the Brothers of Holy Cross. We believe the school will secure its own long-term success if its product is refined and promoted to a broader community. This means that the school's future depends not only on attracting and enrolling students from neighboring Catholic elementary schools, but also from the greater community-at-large.
The board of trustees ensures that Moreau Catholic High School, within the heritage and mission of the Congregation of Holy Cross, continues the tradition of Catholic belief and instruction about God, Jesus Christ and Catholic-Christianity in a post-Vatican II era. We do this as we:
1. Teach the good news message given to us by Jesus Christ in the gospels
2. Present the beliefs of the Church within an ecumenical frame¬work that recognizes and respects all religions
3. Present the example of Christian lifestyles through the positive role modeling of faculty, staff and volunteers
4. Provide students with ample and meaningful opportunities for spiritual growth and the deepening of their personal relationships with Jesus Christ
5. Guide students to experience personally the Gospel mandate of selfless service to others
6. Assure that the integration of the school's curriculum and the scope of its teaching methodologies and technology will be accomplished within a faith community dimension
7. Portray the rich diversity of thought and interpretation that constitutes Catholic teaching and worship by respecting and characterizing the pluralism of today's Church
8. Relate human culture to a life of faith and faith experiences
9. Affirm that the school is a bearer of intellectual tradition
In this way, we believe every student enrolled in the school receives instruction in and opportunities for embracing the wisdom and teachings of Catholic traditions.
By affirming the school's Catholic character, the board of trustees believes that the school is an expression of its relationship with the Congregation of Holy Cross, which has been, and continues to be, instrumental in formulating the school's mission and its philosophy. To this end, we recognize that as we move to bring the mission and philosophy of Moreau Catholic High School to a broader, often non-Christian community, we need to take care to continually clarify and reaffirm the school's Holy Cross, Catholic identity.
We believe that Catholic education in our school will occur in a safe, clean and orderly environment. We will focus on maintaining an overall environment where the Gospel values of love, respect and dignity are reinforced and celebrated. We will place emphasis on the core essentials of a college-preparatory education, and expect superior performance in all areas of the school's curricular and cocurricular programs. We believe that these attributes will prepare our students for options in higher education and adult responsibility, and will reinforce the concept of stewardship in our community.
We believe that the generic attributes of Catholic schools are linked to Moreau Catholic's mission and philosophy so that our school benefits from all of the expectations and achievements of Catholic schools as a "system." Our school's mission and philosophy will be recognized in a broader dimension and our faculty, staff and student recruitment efforts will be further enhanced.
From a planning and marketing perspective, we recognize that our competing public schools will improve and/or other private schools may emerge. The real and perceived attributes of Moreau Catholic High School will become increasingly important to potential clients as the issues of preference, choice and enrollment are factored into our planning and marketing strategies. We maintain a commitment to make the school accessible to qualified students and to serve both those who can pay fully for the cost of education as well as those who cannot.
The board of trustees believes that the admission process of Moreau Catholic High School needs to be focused on identifying students who are capable of performing successfully in a college-preparatory curriculum and who embrace the traditions and virtues of Catholic education. We further believe that all students must be recognized as individuals in the admission process and that they should be evaluated on a variety of admission factors.
The board of trustees believes that maintaining the school's optimal enrollment objectives depends in great part on the faculty and staffs' ability to retain students between the time they accept the invitation to attend the school and their actual first day of class in the fall term. We seek to provide a welcoming school community by making every enrolled student and his/her family members feel a part of the Moreau Catholic community from the moment they accept our invitation to enroll.
To build on our mission’s focus on outstanding achievement, we believe that, given the value-conscious buying concerns of our families, a “good” faculty is insufficient for today's environment. The faculty and staff must be rated "excellent" by a majority of parents if the school is to be competitive and have long-term staying power. Students and parents must be convinced of the teachers' mastery of their subject matter, their ability to adjust their teaching technologies and methods to accommodate the differences among students and how they learn, and the personal willingness to go the extra step to ensure that all our students are challenged and supported in their develop¬ment. We believe in the continual development of a professional learning community where educators model the virtue of life-long learning to their students. Commitment to outstanding achievement will be evident at all times.
To this extent, the board of trustees continues to acknowledge and congratulate the faculty and staff for the excellent results achieved through the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) self-study accreditation processes over the years. We believe that the maximum six-year term of accreditation awarded to the school is a major professional affirmation of the teaching, staffing, and administrative excellence for which the school has been noted for many years.
Vision 2000+ and the school’s expected schoolwide learning results (ESLRs) require us to guide students, enabling them to take on the responsibilities of adult life and make sound decisions. We can accomplish this if we adopt teaching methodologies which are designed to simulate the students' real world by challenging them to be creative problem-solvers and critical thinkers. All faculty and staff are expected to model the ESLRs in their curricular and cocurricular duties at the school. Effective achievement of the ESLRs will be continually measured and monitored to ensure that desired outcomes are met within the overall context of the hallmarks of a Holy Cross school.
We believe our teachers must continually seek out innovative ways to meet student needs—especially in these times characterized by so many innovations in educational technology. Our teachers will be characterized as facilitators of learning, rather than purveyors of content. Therefore, we believe all faculty and staff shall model interactive learning and educational technologies, and include them in their day-to-day teaching methodologies, while continually emphasizing the ESLRs as they relate directly to these ideals.
We believe the relationships built by the faculty with parents and students reinforce the quality of the Moreau Catholic High School experience. We respect the desire of our consumers (parents and students) to become good purchasers and partners in our Holy Cross "brand" of Catholic education. It is essential that every one-on-one interaction with a parent and student must be respectful, patient, and aimed at increasing the understanding of how the teacher facilitates student learning. To these ends, the faculty is accessible and responsive to parents and students to ensure our consumers' participation and support for what happens in the classroom. We feel strongly that our marketing effectiveness benefits from a "customer service" orientation, and that improved service makes for satisfied clients who are much more likely to speak favorably about Moreau Catholic High School to potential clients.
We believe that the strategies guiding curriculum planning and development ensure that core college-prep classes approved by the University of California are the standard for inclusion in the curriculum. Advanced Placement (AP) classes will receive priority for inclusion in the curriculum as long as these courses continue to meet intended student/market needs of the school and are financially supportable.
We believe that teaching and a commitment to outstanding achievement are highly valued, mission-related concepts. The theology and moral education courses and programs such as campus ministry, Christian community service, and service learning are primary expressions of our commitment as a Catholic school with a unique difference. When there are resources and opportunities to augment the core curriculum, we believe that relevant electives will provide students with the means to apply their knowledge and skills to the possibilities they may encounter upon graduation from our school. Both the content of the core college preparatory curriculum and the content of elective courses need to include teaching strategies that apply what students are learning to possible employment opportunities and career paths. In this way, we believe we can in¬crease the value of a curriculum designed to inform, form and transform students as they become responsible citizens of our global community.
The school has established a clear statement of purpose that reflects the beliefs and philosophy of the institution. The purpose is defined further by adopted expected schoolwide learning results (ESLRs) that form the basis of the educational program for every student.
The governing authority (a) adopts policies that are consistent with the school purpose and support the achievement of the expected schoolwide learning results for the school, (b) delegates implementation of these policies to the professional staff and (c) monitors results.
The school leadership (1) makes decisions to facilitate actions that focus the energies of the school on student achievement of the expected schoolwide learning results (ESLRs) (2) empowers the staff and (3) encourages commitment, participation and shared accountability for student learning.
The school leadership, faculty and staff are qualified for their assigned responsibilities, are committed to the school's purpose and engage in ongoing professional development that promotes student learning.
The school has a safe, healthy, nurturing environment that reflects the school's purpose and is characterized by respect for differences, trust, caring professionalism, support, and high expectations for each student.
The school leadership and staff regularly assess student progress toward accomplishing the expected schoolwide learning results and report student progress to the rest of the school community.
The school leadership facilitates school improvement which (a) is driven by plans of action that will enhance quality learning for all students, (b) has school community support and involvement, (c) effectively guides the work of the school, and (d) provides for accountability through monitoring of the schoolwide action plan.
Table of Contents
WASC Category A: Organization for Student Learning
Note to Visiting Committee:
Welcome to the collective wikispace for Category A. In this wiki you will find record of the focus groups who addressed the criteria questions for A1-A7. Focus groups reviewed helpful documents and the belief statement (listed below) when they first began meeting in 2010. On the left hand side navigation tab, you will find the artifacts from focus group meetings held between 2010-2012. For each criteria question, there are four affiliated pages:Brainstorm: The collected notes from all focus group meetings.
Narrative: The draft narratives that were developed by the core team and reviewed by the focus groups. Subsequent edits were proposed and incorporated into a working draft.
Evidence: A map to virtual and physical evidence that is referenced in the narrative.
Strengths/Growths: Strengths and growths that were developed into the Schoolwide Action Plan.
We think you will find the Evidence pages to be the best reference as you begin examining the evidence referenced in our narrative prior to your actual site visit on March 4-7 (we've provided quick links to these pages below). Hard copy evidence will also be available to you at the school site during the visit. The other web pages (Brainstorm, Narrative, and Strengths/Growths) offer a glimpse into the process and products of our focus group work which led to the final draft of our self study.
A1 Evidence
A2 Evidence
A3 Evidence
A4 Evidence
A5 Evidence
A6 Evidence
A7 Evidence
Focus Groups Assignments (Jim Patterson Lead)
Focus Group #1: A1, A3 (Focus Group Chair - Colleen Galloway)Focus Group #2: A2, A4 (Focus Group Chair - Angela Demmel)
Focus Group #3: A5, A6, A7 (Focus Group Chair - Susan Geiger)
Helpful Documents:
BELIEF STATEMENT
The board of trustees believes that Moreau Catholic High School provides indispensable service to youth in Southern Alameda County; it is the only Catholic high school serving this geographic region. Its forty-year tradition of academic achievement has twice earned national recognition.
Because of the marketing evaluations undertaken by the board, the trustees are more than convinced that Moreau Catholic High School must continue as an essential ministry of the Diocese of Oakland and the Brothers of Holy Cross. We believe the school will secure its own long-term success if its product is refined and promoted to a broader community. This means that the school's future depends not only on attracting and enrolling students from neighboring Catholic elementary schools, but also from the greater community-at-large.
The board of trustees ensures that Moreau Catholic High School, within the heritage and mission of the Congregation of Holy Cross, continues the tradition of Catholic belief and instruction about God, Jesus Christ and Catholic-Christianity in a post-Vatican II era. We do this as we:
1. Teach the good news message given to us by Jesus Christ in the gospels
2. Present the beliefs of the Church within an ecumenical frame¬work that recognizes and respects all religions
3. Present the example of Christian lifestyles through the positive role modeling of faculty, staff and volunteers
4. Provide students with ample and meaningful opportunities for spiritual growth and the deepening of their personal relationships with Jesus Christ
5. Guide students to experience personally the Gospel mandate of selfless service to others
6. Assure that the integration of the school's curriculum and the scope of its teaching methodologies and technology will be accomplished within a faith community dimension
7. Portray the rich diversity of thought and interpretation that constitutes Catholic teaching and worship by respecting and characterizing the pluralism of today's Church
8. Relate human culture to a life of faith and faith experiences
9. Affirm that the school is a bearer of intellectual tradition
In this way, we believe every student enrolled in the school receives instruction in and opportunities for embracing the wisdom and teachings of Catholic traditions.
By affirming the school's Catholic character, the board of trustees believes that the school is an expression of its relationship with the Congregation of Holy Cross, which has been, and continues to be, instrumental in formulating the school's mission and its philosophy. To this end, we recognize that as we move to bring the mission and philosophy of Moreau Catholic High School to a broader, often non-Christian community, we need to take care to continually clarify and reaffirm the school's Holy Cross, Catholic identity.
We believe that Catholic education in our school will occur in a safe, clean and orderly environment. We will focus on maintaining an overall environment where the Gospel values of love, respect and dignity are reinforced and celebrated. We will place emphasis on the core essentials of a college-preparatory education, and expect superior performance in all areas of the school's curricular and cocurricular programs. We believe that these attributes will prepare our students for options in higher education and adult responsibility, and will reinforce the concept of stewardship in our community.
We believe that the generic attributes of Catholic schools are linked to Moreau Catholic's mission and philosophy so that our school benefits from all of the expectations and achievements of Catholic schools as a "system." Our school's mission and philosophy will be recognized in a broader dimension and our faculty, staff and student recruitment efforts will be further enhanced.
From a planning and marketing perspective, we recognize that our competing public schools will improve and/or other private schools may emerge. The real and perceived attributes of Moreau Catholic High School will become increasingly important to potential clients as the issues of preference, choice and enrollment are factored into our planning and marketing strategies. We maintain a commitment to make the school accessible to qualified students and to serve both those who can pay fully for the cost of education as well as those who cannot.
The board of trustees believes that the admission process of Moreau Catholic High School needs to be focused on identifying students who are capable of performing successfully in a college-preparatory curriculum and who embrace the traditions and virtues of Catholic education. We further believe that all students must be recognized as individuals in the admission process and that they should be evaluated on a variety of admission factors.
The board of trustees believes that maintaining the school's optimal enrollment objectives depends in great part on the faculty and staffs' ability to retain students between the time they accept the invitation to attend the school and their actual first day of class in the fall term. We seek to provide a welcoming school community by making every enrolled student and his/her family members feel a part of the Moreau Catholic community from the moment they accept our invitation to enroll.
To build on our mission’s focus on outstanding achievement, we believe that, given the value-conscious buying concerns of our families, a “good” faculty is insufficient for today's environment. The faculty and staff must be rated "excellent" by a majority of parents if the school is to be competitive and have long-term staying power. Students and parents must be convinced of the teachers' mastery of their subject matter, their ability to adjust their teaching technologies and methods to accommodate the differences among students and how they learn, and the personal willingness to go the extra step to ensure that all our students are challenged and supported in their develop¬ment. We believe in the continual development of a professional learning community where educators model the virtue of life-long learning to their students. Commitment to outstanding achievement will be evident at all times.
To this extent, the board of trustees continues to acknowledge and congratulate the faculty and staff for the excellent results achieved through the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) self-study accreditation processes over the years. We believe that the maximum six-year term of accreditation awarded to the school is a major professional affirmation of the teaching, staffing, and administrative excellence for which the school has been noted for many years.
Vision 2000+ and the school’s expected schoolwide learning results (ESLRs) require us to guide students, enabling them to take on the responsibilities of adult life and make sound decisions. We can accomplish this if we adopt teaching methodologies which are designed to simulate the students' real world by challenging them to be creative problem-solvers and critical thinkers. All faculty and staff are expected to model the ESLRs in their curricular and cocurricular duties at the school. Effective achievement of the ESLRs will be continually measured and monitored to ensure that desired outcomes are met within the overall context of the hallmarks of a Holy Cross school.
We believe our teachers must continually seek out innovative ways to meet student needs—especially in these times characterized by so many innovations in educational technology. Our teachers will be characterized as facilitators of learning, rather than purveyors of content. Therefore, we believe all faculty and staff shall model interactive learning and educational technologies, and include them in their day-to-day teaching methodologies, while continually emphasizing the ESLRs as they relate directly to these ideals.
We believe the relationships built by the faculty with parents and students reinforce the quality of the Moreau Catholic High School experience. We respect the desire of our consumers (parents and students) to become good purchasers and partners in our Holy Cross "brand" of Catholic education. It is essential that every one-on-one interaction with a parent and student must be respectful, patient, and aimed at increasing the understanding of how the teacher facilitates student learning. To these ends, the faculty is accessible and responsive to parents and students to ensure our consumers' participation and support for what happens in the classroom. We feel strongly that our marketing effectiveness benefits from a "customer service" orientation, and that improved service makes for satisfied clients who are much more likely to speak favorably about Moreau Catholic High School to potential clients.
We believe that the strategies guiding curriculum planning and development ensure that core college-prep classes approved by the University of California are the standard for inclusion in the curriculum. Advanced Placement (AP) classes will receive priority for inclusion in the curriculum as long as these courses continue to meet intended student/market needs of the school and are financially supportable.
We believe that teaching and a commitment to outstanding achievement are highly valued, mission-related concepts. The theology and moral education courses and programs such as campus ministry, Christian community service, and service learning are primary expressions of our commitment as a Catholic school with a unique difference. When there are resources and opportunities to augment the core curriculum, we believe that relevant electives will provide students with the means to apply their knowledge and skills to the possibilities they may encounter upon graduation from our school. Both the content of the core college preparatory curriculum and the content of elective courses need to include teaching strategies that apply what students are learning to possible employment opportunities and career paths. In this way, we believe we can in¬crease the value of a curriculum designed to inform, form and transform students as they become responsible citizens of our global community.
A1. School Purpose
The school has established a clear statement of purpose that reflects the beliefs and philosophy of the institution. The purpose is defined further by adopted expected schoolwide learning results (ESLRs) that form the basis of the educational program for every student.A2. Governance
The governing authority (a) adopts policies that are consistent with the school purpose and support the achievement of the expected schoolwide learning results for the school, (b) delegates implementation of these policies to the professional staff and (c) monitors results.A3. School Leadership
The school leadership (1) makes decisions to facilitate actions that focus the energies of the school on student achievement of the expected schoolwide learning results (ESLRs) (2) empowers the staff and (3) encourages commitment, participation and shared accountability for student learning.A4. Staff
The school leadership, faculty and staff are qualified for their assigned responsibilities, are committed to the school's purpose and engage in ongoing professional development that promotes student learning.A5. School Environment
The school has a safe, healthy, nurturing environment that reflects the school's purpose and is characterized by respect for differences, trust, caring professionalism, support, and high expectations for each student.A6. Reporting Student Progress
The school leadership and staff regularly assess student progress toward accomplishing the expected schoolwide learning results and report student progress to the rest of the school community.A7. School Improvement Process
The school leadership facilitates school improvement which (a) is driven by plans of action that will enhance quality learning for all students, (b) has school community support and involvement, (c) effectively guides the work of the school, and (d) provides for accountability through monitoring of the schoolwide action plan.